[ad_1]
Australian shares ended the session in positive territory with mining and energy sectors experiencing the largest daily gains.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index edged up 58.3 points, or 0.86 per cent higher, to 6839.2, crossing above its 20-day moving average.
The broader All Ordinaries index gained 49.2 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 7110.8, while the Australian dollar jumped after news JobSeeker payments would be permanently increased by $50 a fortnight.
The currency was fetching 79.2 US cents at the close and gold was trading at $US1811.10 an ounce.
Axi market analyst Stephen Innes said rising commodity prices and bond yields had boosted the Australian dollar.
“The AUD and NZD continued their push higher overnight, buoyed by the reflation theme and rising commodity prices,” Mr Innes said.
“The currencies have also been the beneficiary of rising domestic bond yields. And in the case of the AUD, despite uber dovish RBA forward guidance, traders continue to price a higher probability of an RBA rate hike given the rapidly improving domestic state of affairs.”
Cement maker Adbri posted the largest daily gain after the release of its latest financial results, with the building material group’s net profit after tax nearly doubling to $93.7m compared to the prior period.
Its stock rose 10.5 per cent to $3.26 per share.
Bank of Queensland shares soared 9.5 per cent to $9.21 each after the regional bank announced its plan on Monday to acquire industry fund owned ME Bank, which would nearly double the size of the company.
The nation’s four main banks all ended the session higher. Commonwealth Bank rose 1.7 per cent to $83.29 per share, while Westpac jumped 1.9 per cent to $24.16 per shares.
Shares in NAB increased 1.1 per cent to $24.85 each and ANZ ended up 1.2 per cent to $26.81 per share.
Tech darling Afterpay tumbled 7.2 per cent to $138.46 per share, while Domino’s shares fell 8.9 per cent to end the session at $95.67 each.
OpenMarkets chief executive Ivan Tchourilov said buy-now-pay-later stocks were rattled by the large sell-offs of PayPal shares in the US.
“Investors are eager to see results from Afterpay, which are due out later this week,” he said.
“It’s not all that surprising to see some selling pressure leading into this announcement after the run they’ve had in recent months.”
Major miner Rio Tinto increased its share price by 1.8 per cent to $130 each, while its major rival BHP jumped 3.1 per cent to $50.43 per share.
Travel stocks made large gains on Tuesday thanks to the start of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, which is boosting confidence over borders.
Flight Centre jumped 6.2 per cent to $16.56 per share, while stock in Qantas rose 4.4 per cent to $5.03 per share. Corporate Travel Management stock skyrocketed 9.8 per cent to $20.80 each.
Stock in Telstra fell 0.9 per cent to $3.23 per share, while Woolworths closed 0.1 per cent lower to $39.09 per share and Wesfarmers ended the trading day 3.3 per cent down to $50.93.
[ad_2]
Source link
